maybe a bike??

[Axel Grungy]

this past summer i painted a guys house who had a yamaha r6, and from then on ive thought about getting a bike. now im a newb when it comes to bikes so im obviously not gonna go buy a super fast crotch rocket and go splat myself on the road. anyone have any suggestions on a good starter bike?? im in about the 2500 price range so nothing fancy. i would just want something reliable, decent handling, not super fast. im also about 5'9" 140lbs so nothing too big. i dont really care about the make honda, yamaha, suzuki. any help would be appreciated.

p.s. ive noticed hondas go for ALOT more than bikes of the same year/mileage, are they that much better??

[Andrew300zx]

my first bike was an early 90's Kawasaki Ninja 600. Great starter bike and you can pick up a clean one and have lots of money to spare. you could also get an almost new 250cc ninja- but dont! you will regret it. I'm a big kawasaki fan so in you shoes, I would use cycle trader to buy myself another one

[nismofly]

ive never ridden a sport bike like that, just dirtbikes...how much different are they, aside from speed, anyone comment

if you want a dirtbike, im ktm all the way

id say probably like a 600 though, sounds nice

[SeVa-S13]

There's nothing wrong with the 250 Ninjas for starter bikes, even though people will whine and complain to kingdom come that they're too small of an engine. Boo-frickin-hoo. It's supposed to be a first bike and is an EXCELLENT bike. It'll out-handle alot of the bigger bikes and is plenty fun with its 15k redline. It's lighter than the bigger bikes too, so acceleration is no problem at all. Just throwin' in my 2p when I see misinfo as usual...

[nismofly]

well i have a 250 dirtbike, so i thought that a road bike would need to be more powerful, but i guess youre right, the weight isnt that much different

[SeVa-S13]

I'm not saying it's the fastest bike ever, but I'd be willing to argue that it's one of, if not the, best starter bike. Being that you've ridden dirt bikes, you could probably just got with an old F2 of GSXR 600 like mentioned without too much of a to-do. The handy thing with the 250's is that they just don't depreciate--people are always looking for them so after your first 6 months or something, you can more than likely get your money back and invest it in a bike you're more likely to kill yourself on.

[Andrew300zx]

misinfo? give me a break. I have yet to meet anyone that has owned a 250 as a first bike that hasn't regretted it. The 250 IS slow and I'm not giving facts, just overwhelming opinion of the different groups of guys I used to ride with.

[SeVa-S13]

So what if it's slow compared to a liter bike? That's good. I've known plenty of guys, myself included who loved their first 250, and even some of 'em that still own one for fun riding because they're so light and nimble. Sure if the purpose of owning a bike is just to go 150mph to show off how much of a badass you are, by all mean get the faster bike. But your first bike should easy to handle and not overly powerful.

[Axel Grungy]

yes this is waht im looking for, i dont need it to be fast when im just learning

[HashiriyaS14]

I was/am thinking about a bike, and I've gotten vastly different responses from my rider friends.

Some say a two-fiddy is an excellent choice, and others say I should rush out and get a Gixxer 750. The Ninja 600 seems like a nice compromise.

[[Zero-S]]

I believe if/when I get the uber job I just applied for, a new 250 will be parked in my garage. Might as well, I've always wanted a bike.

[912.0turbo]

I recently rode my friends Honda CBR 600F4i and it is a nice *** bike. That is the first time I have EVER ridden a bike but it was cool. Took it reeeeeaaaaaaal slow at first but had a blast.

[D1SR240]

my friends getting a gsxr 600 and its gonna be his first bike

[gabossie]

I've been looking at getting a bike. I've ridden dirt bikes a few times, but nothing past minimal experience. I think I'll be going with a 250 as my first bike.

[TachyonS14]

Let me give you my whole bike exp. and see if it helps.

I started riding in june when I got a 1981 Kawasaki CSR 250.

This is an awsome starter bike. Handles really well, and is a BLAST to ride because it's so dang small. With 17 raging horses, and an 80 mph top speed is was perfect. Also, it's a total beater so I wasn't that worried about dropping it, or learning to ride on it. But, like most riders will tell you, you want more power soon.

Here it is 6 months later and I've upgrade to a 1983 Kawasaki GPz 550.

And I LOVE THIS BIKE! The weight might be a little heavy compared to bikes of today, but a 12 second quarter is enough for me. I'm not into going 130+ on a bike because you can get owned badly. Riding a motorcycle is so much different from a car. Being able to get through traffic while others in there car's are just sitting is awsome.

So my advice is, buy a cheap-o 80's bike and learn to ride on it, then upgrade to a bigger bike.

[quiksilvia]

bikes are tight, buy me one! i was looking at hte cbr f2's and 3's for a while but im poor

[Drift Machine]

I plan on getting a bike next summer. For me it's pretty much going to come down to price, whichever GSXR, YZF, or ZX is cheapest at that time.

[getnrowdy23]

my first bike was a 2004 Suzuki SV650s (not650L) its not realy fast, but a good starter bike. see if you cant find like a 200-2001 sv650 they kinda nice

[Axel Grungy]

how much would that go for??

[accel junky]

I highly recommend a 600cc as a starter.

My first bike was a 1993 Honda CBR600 F2. Great bike, paid 3300 for it 2 years ago and that was with fully built motor and lots of bolt ons.

My second bike was also a 600. 2001 Suzuki GSX-R600. This one was way faster (10.3 sec 1/4 mile) and alot more uncomfortable. This bike is race ready and NOT comfortable for more than 10 mile trips.

[TachyonS14]

Accel Junky made me remember a good point. If you are going to do a lot of riding, don't buy a full on sport bike because your back will hate you big time.

[getnrowdy23]

true about the seating... http://www.wowmotorcycles.com/bikes.aspgo there and browse this stores bikes and prices, mind you that you can prolly get it cheaper from somone.. but pics and prices of everything.... this shop is in atlanta.

[LaughingBull]

Never owned a bike but been looking for a while. Would anyone recommend the Suzuki GS500?

[getnrowdy23]

they are small, sound ok, but dont try riding with other bikes... its like have a stock ka and trying to ride with the supra boys. i wouldnt recommend one, but they are definately not bad bikes. they look better than most 500s also. i dont know how you are with speed, but i would want something faster in a hurry, dont get me wrong it will get up and go, i just like speed. overall fun little bike. =)

[bcar240]

I had ridden dirtbikes for years (some great fun there,) but I recently started riding streetbikes in the last couple years or so. I don't have one myself, too impractical for college, but my dad has a few. He has an old 1978 Suzuki 400 that i learned to ride on, and he recently bought an sv650. Got it super cheap cause someone dropped it and scraped up the side panels, mechnically it's 100%. The difference is night and day between those two. I would recommend learning on an older more cruiser-type bike, not a sport bike. Personally, I wouldn't get a Ninja 250 or the like because I sat on one when I was 15, and the dimensions seemed too small for me (seat height, etc.) I am not saying the engine was too small (although my dirt bike is also 250cc), but I think many people have a macho factor to get a bigger engine than 250cc. Once you are used to riding (happens pretty quick) you would want a bigger bike anyway, but the ninja 250 tends to hold resell value from what I have seen.

[Axel Grungy]

what is considered low/high mileage for a bike??

[574-240sx]

I like honda bikes they are so smooth all the way around. I have never owned a bike, I just like to drive other peoples bikes. My friend 2002 R1 scares the crap out of me. I have concidered buying a R6 but in reallity I wouldn't ride it more than a few times a year.

[SeVa-S13]

Like take car mileage, and then divide it by 10. :P(that's actually the easiest and simplest way that I think of it, sadly enough.)

[TachyonS14]

Ya, a motor with about 50k is usually a dead motor.

[austinreed21]

hey i have a 1990 FZR 600 black and silver. Its my first bike and I am 5'9 140 as well and this is one of the very few bikes i have ridden that i feel is perfect for me... its so light and can out handle most modern bikes... it may be for sale tell me if your interested! see ya